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Bush bestowed the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Podhoretz in 2004, at the very time that Democrats were attacking him for a war that was not going as advertised.
AP Photo

The nation’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, is framed in his living room. Bush bestowed it in 2004, at the very time that Democrats were attacking him for a war that was not going as advertised.

Podhoretz now finds himself defending both the rosy picture he and fellow neoconservatives painted in the run-up to war, as well as the reasons America has been involved in it longer now than World War II.

It is world war that dominates Podhoretz’s work today. He argues that World War III was the Cold War and that World War IV is the war on terrorism, a view echoed by the likes of Clinton-era CIA Director James Woolsey.

Only when the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are understood as one larger conflict, Podhoretz argues, can one grasp the gravity of the struggle before the United States.

The Bush Doctrine — as he summarizes it, “to make the Middle East safe for America by making it safe for democracy” — puts democratization at the top of the agenda.

During the Cold War containment was the priority; democracy was secondary. Neoconservatives, by contrast, argue that democracy is a means to an end.

Perhaps ironically, democracy may be one of the great impediments to Podhoretz’s getting his way. A good portion of his book is devoted to arguing why the president should press on despite the domestic unpopularity of the war in Iraq — effectively short-circuiting democracy here in America.

He does acknowledge that after Vietnam, Americans became impatient with war, especially when it seems mismanaged and ill-conceived (which he argues Iraq was not).

Still, Podhoretz says, “We have to find a way to fight the war with the people we now are.”

Podhoretz cannot be dismissed as an ideological outlier. Despite a majority of Americans favoring a withdrawal from Iraq, a substantial minority subscribe to his argument that the war there is part of a larger one.

As recently as this summer, according to the Gallup Poll, 44 percent of Americans considered the war in Iraq “to be part of the war on terrorism which began on Sept. 11, 2001.”

But when he details his worldview, he severs himself from the bulk of foreign policy wonks, both conservative and liberal.

Podhoretz argues the war in Iraq has not empowered Iran. He believes that Iraq had biological and chemical weapons, but they were likely shipped out to Syria. And, says the man with the ear of the current and possibly next president, the war in Iraq is a success.

“The seeds of this democratization are planted,” as Podhoretz describes Iraq. “The opposition to this process of democratization turned out to be much more ferocious than anybody anticipated, including me. So it took a while for our people to learn how to deal with it,” he continued.

The greatest proof that Podhoretz is right, he insisted, is the very intensity of attacks in Iraq.

“If the enemy of that process [of democratization] thought it was a failure, they wouldn’t be blowing themselves up to frustrate it or derail it,” he argued.

“They agree that this is not only happening, but that it is a danger to them. They agree with Bush. They agree with me,” Podhoretz chuckled.

Forcing people to accept a particular system of government through violence will not work. The neoconservative argument for forcing top-down reform is proving itself irrelevant in Iraq right now. No positive change will happen there until the people are genuinely interested in reform and real, everyday citizens of Iraq start working for it. This is what happened in the United States and everywhere else reforming or creating democracy was successful. Change comes from the people, and is built through civil society. The Bush doctrine is a complete failure.

If Americans elect another Republican president, be forewarned, we can see a war worse than the Iraqi war. To ensure this does not happen, however, you can check out and perhaps join, the New American Independent Party, and volunteer to support one of our Presidential Candidates, Richard H. Clark. Help us take back our country! Sincerely, Campaign to Elect Richard H. Clark for President www.MiddleClass2008.com www.NewAmericanIndependent.com

Here is something we all agree on...............................From Little Green Footballs Protests Against Ahmadinejad on Monday Sun, Sep 23, 2007 at 3:06:15 pm PST MONDAY, SEPT. 24: What: Ahmadinejad to speak at luncheon at National Press Club by videolink When: Protesters needed from 11:00-2:00. Come for however long you can. Where: Washington, DC: National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW Please note: Attendance inside is limited to NPC members, their guests and accredited media only. Our protest will be held outside of the NPC Building at the corner of 14th and F Streets NW which is close to the Metro Center metro station. For More info: Contact Meagan Buren at 202-230-7389 or Brandon Gray at 202-857-6627 MONDAY, SEPT. 24: What: Rally led by Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Jewish Community Relations in cooperation with United Jewish Communities, UJA-Federation of New York and Jewish Council for Public Affairs. Speakers include Debra Burlingame, sister of Charles F. “Chic” Burlingame, III, (Capt., USNR, Ret.), pilot of American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11. When: 12 p.m. (rain or shine) Where: NYC: Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 2nd Ave. at 47th St.(across the street from the UN) For more info: Conference of Presidents, 212-318-6111 or info@conferenceofpresidents.org or the JCRC, 212-983-4800, ext. 161 or info@jcrcny.org MONDAY, SEPT. 24: What: Rally by students from Columbia and dozens of other organizations. When: 12:30 - 3 p.m. Where: NYC: Outside Columbia University at W. 116th St. and Broadway- only people with Columbia student IDs will be allowed on campus. The main protest will happen on Broadway on public space next to the building where Ahmadenijad is speaking, so even non Columbia people can protest at this event. 66 digg this | newsvine | reddit | del.icio.us | tags | email this article

Like any idea or ideology - its not the thought, its the execution.........any idea, poorlyu executed is destined to fail................

Conservatism like Liberalism have core values that can be bi-partisan..........both approaches can be of value..............but when one or both is subverted, like Islam has been, and the like Neo-Cons have done and The Move-ons have done......the core values cannot be communicated properly....or.....executed properly because the energy is being inefficiently redirected into attacking the other guys POV............instead of breeding communication, dialouge, and progress..................

Bombing Iran may be the answer, but it may not be the answer...............................good answers arent always easy to come by.....and not always fast to come by...even when it looks pretty clear on what should be done.............there are simply too many other second order effects to consider.....................................

The Far Right and the Far Left are losing their relevancy, (indeed exteremists in general) the more complex our world becomes.......one thing is right in this article.....our fundamantalist exteremist pals in the ME do not want to see democracy for any reason, because it means they need to hang out the Going out of Business sign...........Much like we saw for years in Northern Ireland..................once the people got fed up with all of it, the problem began to go away...............

But we cannot expect progress proceeding on a strictly liberal or strictly conservative agenda.....................here or abroad.......

I think this is the first time I've ever heard anyone refer to Cheney as a paleoconservative. How uninformed can a journalist be? Pat Buchanan is a paleoconservative. Cheney is a neocon lock, stock and barrel.

These lables do keep us from uniting on areas of agreement like condeming ackward a dim a jihads comments at columbia u..... Ask yourself why your really at politico...because you give a damn about your country and in my book that makes you better than 90 per cent of our countrymen glued to the idot box and hoping to win the lottery

Neocons have the intellectual ability of seeing the "big picture". Without Neocons, the outcome of WWII would have perhaps been far different. Neocons, such as Winston Churchill did what was unpopular at the time and confronted the rising tyranny in the interest of future stability around the world. The average person who can't quite grasp the brilliance of the Neocon's frame of thought instead find themselves wrapped up in the emotions of the moment and are unwilling to sacrifice for a greater good. Self-loathing and entitlement now prevail in America. Groups like Soros funded MoveOn.org and quite frankly, the Liberal/Progressive Democratic party are all too eager to exploit this lack of future vision. Their game is too further erode and weaken our National Sovereignty and patriotism so that our dependence on world bodies such as the U.N. will increase. This would ultimately weaken the United State's say and influence on world events and policies. It is no coincidence that the President of Iran and your average Liberal/Progressive activist can share so many talking points. Their vision is one in the same.